Council of Common Interest has approved the 7th Population and Housing Census unanimously
Total population of the country reaches at 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55 %
PM Shehbaz underscores need for controlling population growth & overcoming the challenge by accelerating pace of economic development
Says it is a great day for strengthening the Federation of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
The Council of Common Interest (CCI) has approved the 7th Population and Housing Census unanimously, recording total population of the country at 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55 percent.
The approval was accorded at a meeting of the CCI held in Islamabad on Saturday, with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in the chair.
Chief Ministers of all provinces, representatives of all political parties including Mir Khalid Hussain Magsi of Balochistan Awami Party, Syed Aminul Haq of MQM, Maulana Asad Mehmood of Jamiat Ulema Islam (F) and Chaudhry Qamar Zaman Kaira of Pakistan People’s Party attended the meeting and fully endorsed the results of the census.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the Council of Common Interests is an important constitutional body which strengthens the federation. He noted with concern that population has increased by 3.5 crores in the last 6 years which is much higher than its economic growth. He underscored the need for controlling population growth and overcoming the challenge by accelerating the pace of economic development.
According to detailed province wise break-down of population, Punjab’s population is 127.68 million with a growth rate of 2.53 percent, Sindh 55.69 Million with a growth rate of 2.57 percent, Balochistan 14.89 Million with a growth rate of 3.2 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 40.85 million with a growth rate of 2.38 percent and Islamabad federal capital territory 2.36 million with a growth rate of 2.81 percent.
Rural population of Pakistan is 61.18 percent while urban is 38.82 percent.
This was the first ever digital census of the country in which Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to ensure real time monitoring, transparency, data quality and complete coverage.
Taking benefit of digital mode of data entry, 6.6 million households of the country entered their data through ‘Self- Enumeration’ portal and expressed confidence in the digital system.
Meanwhile in a statement issued on twitter on Saturday, PM Shehbaz Sharif said that it is a great day for strengthening the Federation of Pakistan. The Council of Common Interests has unanimously approved the seventh digital census. The meeting was also attended by representatives of political parties who joined it on a special invitation. The idea was to make informed and thorough deliberations in line with the PDM government’s approach of dealing with national issues through consensus, he said.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said that the entire census process was organized under the supervision of a census advisory committee that had representation of all stakeholders including provincial governments and renowned statisticians. He said that NADRA, National Telecom Corporation and SUPARCO provided logistical support for the process to be carried out in the most transparent, credible and efficient of ways. This was Pakistan’s first digital census, he said.
“My special thanks are due to all the relevant federal ministries, provincial CMs and their governments, NADRA, SUPARCO, NTC, the armed forces, police, and above all our teachers who took part in this gigantic exercise. They rendered tremendous national service” PM Shehbaz Sharif said.
Meanwhile Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry wrote on twitter, Alhamdulillah! 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 approved by Council of Common Interest (CCI) with consensus, a milestone. It was country’s first digital census, he said.
Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan’s population in the 7th census has increased from 207.68 million in 2017 to 241.49 million. Congrats to the staff of Ministry of Planning and Development, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Provincial Governments and administration for the fieldwork and Pakistan Army and Police for providing security. We kept the process transparent and regularly consulted all stake holders through Census Monitoring Committee meetings, he said.
While Cautioning, Ahsan Iqbal said that population growth rate which was on decreasing trajectory from 1981 has increased from 2.4% in 2017 to 2.55% in 2023, which is worrisome. We need strong commitment by provincial governments for population management programmes. The NFC award needs to take into account demographic efficiency for incentivising reduction in population growth, he said.